Season 20
Won/Loss (place in division) & Playoffs: 79-83 (3rd), missed playoffs
Offense: 833 runs (1st)
Pitching: 5.11 ERA (14th)
Major Changes
FA Departures: SP Calvin Nielsen, OF Julian Guerrero, SP Sherman Moore, RP Juan Amaro, SP Rafael Rijo
FA Signees: OF Todd Brooks, SP Mike DeJean, SP Braden Holt, RP Carlos Blanco, SP Jim Thompson, RP Edinson Palacios
Promoted: DH Joshua Raburn, SP Al Buehrle, RP Ebeneezer Cashman
Season 21 OutlookGuess which team lead Major Leagues in scoring last year? Yep, the Royals, with 833. How do they do it? A little of everything: 2nd in HR's (226), 3rd in OBP, contributions from a lot of players (6 with 20+ HR's). Throw in a co-MVP season from Albert Johnson and a second straight career year from 3B Tony Cohen. Mix well and hope it happens again.
Usually when a team has a 5.11 ERA and loses 4 pitchers to free agency, it's a good thing. In this case, though, 2 of the departing pitchers (Nielsen and Rijo) were responsible for the team ERA not being 5.75. KC has retooled aggressively, though. Stephen Pressley holds down the #1 starter job (and very well at that). Mike DeJean moves in at #2 - he's in an all-out war against ratings decline but should be good for one last roundup. Braden Holt has a 4.02 ERA over a long career, but he's also battling ratings drops. Jim Thompson and rookie Al Buerhle round out the rotation.
The bullpen is a problem. Coleman and Blanco have talent but can't throw enough innings to matter. The rest...well, hope the offense builds up a lot big leads by middle innings.
Pitching is definitely going to be an adventure...if you like 12-10 games, tune in to Royals' broadcasts this year.
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